WILTON -- The Wilton boys hockey team can hear the ice beneath them cracking. The Warriors can only hope they can skate back on the winning track before the sheet gives way.

Wilton dropped its fourth straight game after an impressive 8-1-1 start to the season, looking both listless and lifeless as Division 3 Watertown-Pomperaug skated away with a 5-2 win over the D-2 Warriors.

"As much as I love the game of hockey, this didn't reflect the game," said a shell-shocked Brett Amero, Wilton's sixth-year head coach. "We were just standing around. I didn't think we just turned the puck over in the neutral zone, I thought it was in all three zones. It was unexplainable. It was hard to watch."

After a scoreless first period, in which W-P outshot Wilton 10-6, the Indians built a 3-1 lead in the second period on goals by Chris Spagnoletti, Kyle Block and Ryan Borsari.

However, the second period closed out with a controversial call as the referee allowed a goal by Wilton's Rob Marino to stand at the final buzzer, sending the Warriors into the last break with the momentum.

The play developed as defenseman Jon Meissner took a shot from the point with approximately four seconds left.

The puck was stopped by Watertown goaltender Trevor St. Onge and rebounded toward the right face-off circle where Marino one-timed it into the net as the buzzer sounded.

Whether or not the puck actually crossed the goal-line before the buzzer sounded was the question.

As Wilton skated down to its locker room, Indians players and coaches pleaded in vain with officials to change the call and disallow the goal.

In hindsight, it was the best thing that could have happened to the Indians.

"We have a history and an attitude that it's us vs. everybody," said Watertown-Pomperaug head coach Vic Vicenzi. "We basically told them, 'Fellas, the only people who are going to do anything about us winning or losing is us.' We were a little hot when it happened. I told them I'd worry about the refs and all they had to do was worry about hockey. I had their backs. But it definitely put a chip on our shoulder."

So much so, in fact, that as the Indians jumped back on the ice for the final period, captain Brian Fay reminded each and every player who skated by him, "It's time to get (angry)."

Twenty seconds into the third, when a Wilton defender misplayed a two-on-one, Borsari slid a perfect pass across the crease to Jack Bray, who deflected the puck home for a 4-2 Indians edge.

"That was huge," Vicenzi said, "especially in the fashion it was scored. For them to go out and score like that, you saw the whole bench revitalized."

And on Wilton's end of the arena, you could hear the ice start to crack.

Watertown outshot Wilton by a 16-5 count in the final period, giving it a 41-21 edge for the game.

The Indians moved to 8-3 with their fourth straight win.

"That's a nice looking team," Amero admitted. "I like their heart. They had a lot of heart and desire and we lacked both of those today."

Paul Merolla's goal, a wrister from the blueline that went five-hole on St. Onge (19 saves), gave the Warriors their first goal, cutting a 2-0 Watertown advantage in half.

Less than a minute later, though, the Indians scored short-handed, once again taking some life out of their hosts.

Kevin O'Connell finished with 36 saves for Wilton, which fell to 8-5-1 heading into Thursday's game against the Fairfield co-op at the Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport.

Wilton basically has that one game to right the ship because after that it faces Division 1 teams Trinity Catholic (Saturday), New Canaan (Wednesday, Feb. 16) and Darien (Saturday, Feb. 19).

"With three D-1 teams on the immediate horizon, it's time to get it together," said Amero. "If we put three periods of no-heart hockey against some of our next opponents, we're in trouble.

"I know the outcome of our season if that happens," he added. "We won't win any games and we'll have prepared ourselves for a one-and-out in the state tournament. That's not what we're trying to do here and we'll do our best to turn it around."